Tool for turning zinc-shavings.



No. 678,796. Patel fled July I6, 190:.

F L. STEARNS.

TOOL FOR TURNING ZINC SHAVINGS.

(No Model.)

mfiwesses hwevfltor n'rrnn STATES arnn'r @rrron.

FRANK L. STEARNS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

TOOL FOR TURNING ZlNC SHAVlNGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 678,796, dated July 16, 1901. Application filed December 21, 1900. herial No. 40,666. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK L. STEARNS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Tools forTurningZinc-Shavings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tools and turninglathes used to turn zinc-shavings for use in cyanid-works, and is embodied in a cuttingtool of peculiar construction and in a turninglathe adapted to turn the Work (zinc) in a direction reverse to that usual in the ordinary lathe-that is to say, the work on which the cutting tool is operating moves upward against the tool instead of downward, and the tool is adapted to properly turn shavings from the zinc in the lathe while it is being rotated in such reverse direction.

Heretofore great difficulty has been experienced in turning zinc into shavings, and various devices have been improvised therefor, owing to the fact that the zinc would bur on the edge where the cut was being made and become tangled with the shavings; but by cutting these shavings so that they fall below the knife the tendency of the shavings is to fall away from the tool and clear the tool instead of clogging it, as heretofore.

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby large quantities of zinc may be turned into shavings or threads from the metal disks, in which condition this metal is placed on the lathe to be operated on in a satisfactory manner in large quantities rapidly and economically. I accomplish this object by means of the mechanism hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a turninglathe with the zinc disks in place in the lathe and the zinc-cutting tool in the tool carriage ready for use. Figs. 2, 3, and 4: are detailed views of the cutting-tool, showing its shape and proportions.

A compact lathe-frame A is provided with the usual cone-pulleys D and D on the headstock to give different ranges of speed to the mandrel J, carrying the zinc disks C to be turned, which are secured on the mandrel by means of the clamping-disk 13, held in place against the zinc by the lock-nut B, which engages threads on the mandrel. This will clamp the work (zinc disks) firmly against the head-stock K. The tail of the mandrel works in bearin gs in the dead-spindle G, which is securely clamped in the tail-stock and is adjustable therein by means of the crank G. An ordinary tool-carriage E, having adjusting hand-wheels H and I, provides means by which the cutting-tool F is brought into and kept in working position in the lathe. The lathe-mandrel is caused to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow on the drivingbelt, carrying the work with it in that direction. The cutting edge of the cutting-tool is elevated slightly above the center and in this position is moved against the work by the hand-wheel H to cut shavings of the proper thickness. The tool is caused to move from one point of the Work to another by the handwheel I. For an ordinary lathe the cutting-' tool should be made from tool-steel threeeighths of an inch thick by two inches wide, and should decrease in thickness from the first offset until it reaches the cutting end, when it should be one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, and the tool should increase in width from same point until the cutting end is reached, where it should be two and one-half inches wide, the cutting edge being formed by cutting the end almost squarely off, giving it bevel enough for clearance only. This will give lasting qualities to the edge and at the same time leave the cutting edge firm enough to out clean shavings. The proportions of this tool as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4c are substantially correct. The cutting edge should be slightly rounded, as shown in Fig. 3. This will preventburs forming, as the corners F' on cutting edge should never be permitted to enter the metal. The central projecting edge between these points should do all the cutting. If these corners were to enter the meta1,it would instantly bur. This will enable the operator to cut clean nice shavings from zinc disks. At the cutting edge the tool should be tempered very hard. The tempering should begin at the offset next to the cutting end and continue to getharder until the edge of the tool is reached. That portion of the tool between the ofisets shouldbe given a spring temper. In cutting shavings by running alathe the ordinary Way the shavings will catch and Wind up, retarding the capacity of the lathe. By turning the lathe-mandrel carrying the Work reversely with a cutting-tool having these characteristics it allows the shavings to drop underneath the lathe, and it Will not leave a rough edge to catch the shavings and wind them up.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a lathe for turning zinc-shavings, the combination with the lathe of a cutting-tool, provided with a main shank for securing the tool in the lathe; an ofiiset resilient portion projecting from the main shank at an angle, of substantially, fifty-seven degrees; and a hard tempered cutting portion lying in a plane parallel With the main shank, having an edge rounded in main outline.

2. A lathe for turning zinc-shavings,adapted to rotate the mandrel carrying the work in the reverse direction, in combination with a cutting-tool having a shank for securing the tool in the lathe; an offset resilient portion projecting from the shank at an angle of fiftyseven degrees, or thereabout; and a highlytempered portion, the termination of which forms the cutting edge; the cutting edge portion lying in a plane parallel with the shank, and having a rounded curve between the corners of the cutting edge.

3. As an article of manufacture, the herein-described cutting-tool F, for use in zinccutting lathes, comprising a shank; an offset portion projecting from the shank at an angle of fifty-seven degrees, and being resilient; and a cutting portion tempered to form a hard cutting edge; the cutting edge portion I lying at an angle parallel with the shank, and

being bellied out in the center between the corners of the edge.

In witness that I claim the foregoingI have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of December, 1900.

FRANK L. STEARNS.

Witnesses:

HENRY T. HAZARD, G. E. HARPHAM. 

